Introduction from the Author Founded in 1960, UC San Diego has quickly become one of the top universities in California and in the country. Although UCSD has only a few decades of history, they are filled with academic achievements, award-winning research, and excellent teaching. The combination of academics, an intelligent and diverse student body, and the laid-back atmosphere of San Diego results in a unique and rapidly growing University. UCSD is a large research university, but its main concern remains with providing an exceptional education to its undergrad and graduate students. At UCSD, students spend a challenging four years exploring whatever fields interest them. The general education requirements make UCSD students well-rounded and versatile. With the guidance of a world-class faculty and staff, it is impossible not to succeed at UCSD. It takes more than academics to make a great university. There are so many things going on on campus and around San Diego, sometimes it’s hard to find time to study. UCSD offers great facilities, diversity, leadership, sunshine, recreation, and friends to its students. Lectures, labs, concerts, festivals, readings, studying abroad, speeches, and parties make UCSD into an entertaining place to live and learn. When faced with the choice of picking which college to attend, I felt clueless. All I knew was that I wanted to stay in California. I visited a couple of other universities before coming to UCSD and was frustrated and confused. None of the universities I visited felt like they had the right combination of academics and atmosphere to make me happy to call them home. This all changed when I spent the day at UCSD and saw first-hand all the exciting programs it had to offer. Hopefully this book will be able to give you snapshots of what life is like at UCSD and help you find the perfect college for you. Shelby Gunderman, Author UC San Diego